Linking the Dynamics of Supplier Relationships with P2P.

In an environment of increased regulations and demand for compliance, organizations are placing their suppliers under increasing scrutiny. Yet, managing supplier information is often near impossible given the the inability of organizations to easily tie supplier information to procure to pay (not to mention contracts and enterprise data as a whole).

Understanding compliance needs related to the General Data Protection Regulation.

Without fail, my inbox is filled every morning with news, updates, tips and dire predictions about GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and the coming impact on companies and their providers. GDPR is an urgent issue, for sure, but the constant barrage of information can be overwhelming. That’s why when I come across a source or article that brings clarity, it’s worth sharing.

If February DetermiNews could be summed up in one word, it would be “contracts.” This month, starting with our IACCM webinar on January 31, looked at contracts and how to best manage them with technology, internal processes and C-Suite level strategic focus. Contracts represent relationships, revenue and risk to every organization. Making sure yours maximize the first two and mitigate the third is what Determine does for a growing number of leading companies across industry verticals.

Financial Services (FinServ) organizations – banks, insurance companies, wealth management firm, wirehouses – are constantly trying to find a balance between regulatory mandates and expectations, and operational efficiency. Massive supplier data breaches seem like they have become an almost regular occurrence (when they’re reported), customer privacy and data laws are becoming more stringent (GDPR), and predatory behavior by suppliers and vendors is an ongoing issue. Certainly, the porous nature of globalization isn’t making things any easier. With all that to contend with, it’s critical to remember that you can pin the blame for risk on third parties, not the responsibility for it.

How to make friends and influence outcomes

Procurement does not have an easy job. We function as the spending conscience of the enterprise. When a contract is going to be awarded, we make sure a careful selection process is followed and that every specification or requirement associated with additional cost earns its place. We ensure that incumbent suppliers deserve renewed business, and push all suppliers to perform their best on behalf of the company. As important as all those things are, it can often leave procurement looking like the “skunk at the garden party” from an internal procurement stakeholder perspective.

You don’t have to be a corporate general counsel to know that managing contracts can be complicated and time consuming. While almost every contract starts with a request, and ends (hopefully) with renewal, there’s a lot that needs to go on — and sometimes doesn’t — in between. That’s where an integrated and automated contract management process comes in.

Our recent webinar with IACCM, Contract Management – Beyond the Expected, raised a lot of interesting and varied points about the need for contract lifecycle management, and the potential complexity involved. Especially around data visibility – or lack of it, what Sean Delaney, VP of Sales at Determine, called “data disaggregation.” Which is a fancy-pants way of saying your data is a hot mess.

As a reminder, Carillion is a private sector firm that provided a wide array of public services across Britain. They served lunches in public schools and provided maintenance to prisons; They provided cleaning and foodservice in hospitals, and they maintained roads. Perhaps most importantly, they did all of this through a huge network of subcontractors and partners, many of whom are now facing financial difficulties in the wake of the Carillion collapse. By some estimates, up to 30,000 companies could be affected.

Our most read blogs

In the past, we’ve taken a close look at how the procurement maturity curve affects its focus. Two recent posts addressed issues concerning the evolving role of procurement savings, information and technology. In this two-part blog series, we’ll consider supply chain risk in the context of procurement’s maturity. We start by looking at supplier risk […]

The podcast series that’s all about minding your business in contract management and source to pay. Determine recently announced their new Contract Management App for Salesforce. And while Salesforce is a big name in the B2B world, procurement professionals might understandably question what this means for teams outside of sales.

Expanding the value of contracts by leveraging relationships on the Salesforce platform. As the leading authority on all things contract related, The International Association for Contract & Commercial Management (IACCM) has a truer picture of the current state of contracts at any given time than anyone. As such, IACCM looks at the impact of contracts […]

Integrating Determine contracts with Salesforce contacts to drive business opportunities. The Determine Contract Management App on the Salesforce Appexchange is yet another way to be more agile, proactive and responsive in the ever-competitive business world. The following screenshots show you how easy it is to request, manage and collaborate on contracts between our Salesforce app […]

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